


From Blossoms

by orphan_account



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, rated for language, this will be tooth rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-02 21:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13327029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Eddie was, God help him, eating a peach the first time Richie realized he was in love with him.or, Richie realizes his feelings for Eddie and doesn't know how to deal, obviously





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> ship characters not actors
> 
>  
> 
> and also enjoy, don't know how often I will be able to update, but my hope is that this will be finished at some point in the near future as i already have some stuff written.

_From blossoms comes_

_This brown paper bag of peaches_

_We bought from the boy_

_At the bend in the road where we turned toward_

_Signs painted_ Peaches. 

-Li-Young Lee __

Eddie was, God help him, eating a peach the first time Richie realized he was in love with him. They had been walking down the main street when Richie noticed the rickety sign with the word _Peaches_ painted on in childish handwriting. He had dragged Eddie down the side street and bought one for each of them and they had walked on, taking their time going from the arcade to Bill’s house. 

They did this sometimes, hung out on their own, just Eddie and Richie. Richie liked it because he could tease Eddie without the others looking disapprovingly at him all the time, and sometimes when he needed to, he could just be quiet too. It never felt like he had to talk around Eddie. He wanted to, of course, wanted to tell Eddie about his new comic or breaking his record on Streetfighter, or this really cool bug he saw at the Barrens, and when Eddie would wrinkle his nose and say “I know dipshit, I was there too,” in his annoyed-but-not-really tone reserved just for Richie, he would know for sure that Eddie was his best friend in the entire world. 

The juice from the peach was dribbling down Eddie’s chin a bit, so Richie used his sleeve to wipe it off and Eddie smiled at him, a little shyly, with just one corner of his mouth lifting, and something about the way the sun hit him, or the way his eyes crinkled slightly, or maybe it was the way his hand brushed against Richie’s for just a second or maybe it was – well it could have been a million things – made Richie stop in his tracks. 

His first thought was _I am in love with Eddie._

His second thought was _Well fuck._

Eddie who had walked a few steps without realizing Richie had stopped, turned around and raised his eyebrows slightly at the look on Richie’s face. 

Richie’s third thought was _Does he not realize that the world just shifted on its axis?_

Eddie, in fact, did not. Instead he took another bite of that goddamn peach and Richie had to stop himself from groaning. 

“What’s the hold-up Dick?” Richie clenched his fists one, two, three times and forced a grin on his face as he set his feet in motion once again. 

“Good one Eds, but you know I’m the master of bad nicknames around here” Eddie snapped his fingers at him triumphantly. 

“Hah! So you admit they’re bad!” Richie pretended to think about it for a while. 

“Hmm. That doesn’t sound like something I’d say.” 

“No, but you literally just did.” 

“I don’t know what to tell you Spaghetti, sounds like maybe you’re hearing things.” 

“Richie, first of all don’t call me that and second, you literally just said your nicknames were bad! I heard it.” Richie grinned mischievously. 

“Yeah, I did. But no one is ever going to believe you.” Eddie huffed out a “gimme a fucking break” under his breath and shoved Richie’s shoulder with his own and the world had righted itself again. Okay. Big deal. He was in love with Eddie, and looking back on it he probably should have realized sooner. Richie had never been scared of facing his demons though, so he would figure out this too. 

Maybe he should start flirting with Eddie more. But then again, Richie knew he was already an extremely tactile person, always clinging on to one of their friends, throwing an arm over someone’s shoulder, and always, always pinching Eddie’s cheek. _Probably another clue you could have picked up on sooner genius,_ Richie thought to himself. Eddie was already the person he touched the most, so there wasn’t really anything he could do there, but maybe he could try being nicer to Eddie sometimes. He knew that Eddie secretly liked Richie’s jokes, even though he would never admit it, but maybe Richie could try complimenting Eddie sometimes instead. How did you even get someone to like you back? Not like he could stand outside Eddie’s window with a boom box for Christ’s sake. 

Eddie’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. 

“Are you okay, Rich?” Eddie looked a little worried, like he didn’t quite know if he should have even said something. Richie did his best to sound nonchalant and unbothered. Lucky he was so good at voices. Right. 

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t I be?” His voice cracked a bit at the end and, God puberty was a fucking party. He felt his cheeks redden just a little and mentally chided himself. _Calm the fuck down. This is Eddie. You watched him snort Dr. Pepper out of his nose last week for crying out loud._

“You’re just being quiet, is all.” 

“Well I gotta save my best material for when we get to Bill’s. Can’t burn all the good stuff on you Edster!” Eddie glared at him, and Richie mentally high-fived himself for deflecting so smoothly. He could almost hear Eddie’s catchphrase in the air. _Don’t call me –_

“Don’t call me that, jerkwad!” 

Bingo. 

Eddie took another bite out of the peach, and God it was almost sinful to look at now that Richie was aware of how he felt. Eddie’s eyes rolled up a bit as he bit into the fruit and he let out a little moan at the taste before throwing the pit straight at Richie’s face. 

“Stop staring, creep.” Richie figured he might as well go all in now, not like he had anything to lose. 

_(except your best friend if it turns out he doesn’t feel the same way)_

That was not a thought Richie was going to entertain. Eddie had come out to him a couple months ago, at one of the sleepovers that was just the two of them. He had been acting strange the entire night and Richie had asked several times if something was wrong, but Eddie had brushed him off each time. It wasn’t until they turned the lights off to go to sleep, that Eddie had finally spoken. His voice had been tiny, and even if Richie hadn’t been lying right next to him, he would have immediately moved to engulf the smaller boy in a hug. Eddie should never sound that scared if Richie had a say. Anyway, Eddie had said “I think I’m gay” and Richie had said “okay” and Eddie had said “okay?” and Richie had said “yeah” and Eddie had huffed out a breath and buried his face in Richie’s chest and that was that. 

They had been quiet for a while until Richie, never one to shut up, had said “You are my best friend, Eddie Kaspbrak, and I love you.” Richie could sense more than see or hear the smile that took up Eddie’s face and felt him mumble a quiet “mmlob you too” into his t-shirt. 

After that they had fallen asleep, lying a little closer than they had before, and for some reason Richie’s chest had felt both tighter and freer at the same time. 

Guess he knew why, now. 

“How can I not stare when my dear Edward is so adorable to look at.” He pinched his cheeks lightly before Eddie’s hand pushed Richie’s off. “Cute.” 

“Ugh, you’re such a freak Richie, why do I hang out with you again?” 

“Well you sorta have to, since I’m dating your mom and all. Father-son bonding time!” 

“Oh, fuck _off!_ ” Richie let out a guffaw at the affronted look on Eddie’s face, and even though Eddie tried not to, his face cracked in a grin too. It was like looking at the Goddamn sun, except, Richie figured, with less squinting. As the boys reached Bill’s house and went in to greet their waiting friends Richie thought he might be in a little too deep for his own comfort. 


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan had always prided himself on being a little more observant than the others. Of course you didn't really need to be observant when the one you're watching is about as subtle as a brick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems I've really hit my stride. I have half of the last chapter finished already, so I just need to write the next one and I'm all set. 
> 
> Hope you are enjoying, please let me know <3

_From laden boughs, from hands,_

_from sweet fellowship in the bins,_

_comes nectar at the roadside, succulent_

_peaches we devour, dusty skin and all,_

_comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat._

Richie had been acting… weird. Stan had first noticed a couple of weeks ago when all of the Losers had been gathered at Bill’s house as usual. Nothing had seemed out of place at first, Richie had been making the same dumb jokes he always did, but something about him seemed off. First of all, he directed nearly all of said jokes towards Stan, which was probably why he had noticed in the first place. 

Stan knew that Richie knew that Stan had a pretty low tolerance for his bullshit, but the whole night had been nothing but “your mom” this, and “Mrs. Uris” that, so it was to no one’s surprise that Stan had snapped “Beep beep motherfucker! Leave me the hell alone”, and yeah maybe he had been too harsh, but Richie had just _kept on_ raggingon him. 

That was when Stan, who generally considered himself a pretty observant guy, especially when it came to his best friends, noticed that Richie hadn’t directed a single joke at Eddie the entire evening. 

He had had plenty of opportunities too. At one point, they had talked about band practice at school and Eddie had exclaimed that he thought piano was much more fun when he was just playing with himself. Richie, who had been drinking a soda at the time, had choked violently, but kept suspiciously silent. 

Stan’s eyebrows practically met his hairline. 

So, for some reason, Richie, who was infamous for picking on Eddie, come rain or shine, was directing his energies towards Stan instead, and Stan did not know what to make of it. 

That was when he noticed the second thing. 

Richie complemented Eddie, _a lot_. There was the usual pinching of the cheeks with a side of “cute” or “adorable” but there was new stuff too. At one point Richie had ruffled Eddie’s hair and said “Eds, you might just have the fluffiest hair this side of the Kenduskeag.” Eddie had flushed slightly and shoved Richie’s hand away and Stan had watched. 

Later that night when they were settling in to watch movies Richie made a big fuss about being next to Eddie because “Eddie is the only one who knows how I like to be cuddled” Mike and Bill snorted their amusement and Eddie muttered out a slightly embarrassed “Beep beep” and Stan had watched. 

The next morning, they had all been drifting around aimlessly, waiting for breakfast to be ready and Richie looked slightly flushed before pulling Eddie into a half-hug to rustle his hair and say in one of his obnoxious voices: “Eddie my dear, you look positively mah-velous in the mornings. Easily the cutest chap on the block.” Bill had chipped in with a “G-gee thanks, Rich!” and Eddie had scoffed, wriggled out of Richie’s grip and left for the bathroom that had just been vacated by Ben, and Stan had watched. 

He was beginning to sense a pattern here, but then breakfast had been ready, and then they were all headed home, and he had been caught up in homework for the rest of the weekend, and he had happily forgotten about all of the weirdness. Except when he showed up to school on Monday, Richie was _still doing it._

It was less obvious because Richie had apparently decided that he could tease Eddie a little bit, but Stan was, to his great displeasure, still taking the significant brunt of it. Stan had decided to ignore it, thinking that Richie needed time to deal with whatever was bothering him, and even though it didn’t seem like he and Eddie were fighting, something was definitely off. It looked like Eddie had noticed too, sending curious looks at Stan whenever Richie made a joke about his mom, and looking extremely flustered whenever Richie would complement him. 

Stan tried to ignore it, he really had, but it had been almost two weeks now and Richie had just made his second circumcision joke in as many minutes during their lunch break and Stan had seriously had enough. 

He ground out a “that’s it, Trashmouth” and started dragging Richie out of the cafeteria by his wrist. Richie had yelped out a surprised “What the hell, Stan?” and barely had time to grab whatever was left of his lunch, before Stan had yanked him away from the table and out the double doors. Stan led Richie to the bleachers beside the football field, as Richie loudly protested the entire time. People sent weird looks their way but Stan was way beyond caring about that. 

When they got to the bleachers Stan sat down and motioned for Richie to sit down next to him. Richie complied, surprisingly not saying a word. 

“What have I done to deserve this torture?” Richie blinked a couple of times obviously not expecting this. 

“What are you talking about, Stan the Man? I was just goofing off.” 

“No, Richie, you were _not_ just goofing off. You’re being an asshole, and if I’m gonna be the victim I wanna at least know why.” Stan could usually read his friends pretty accurately, but the look on Richie’s face right now was inscrutable. 

“Jeez, Uris, learn to take a joke. It’s not that serious.” Stan was getting a little annoyed now, and decided to try not to let it get the best of him. Then Richie opened his big mouth again. 

“Just because you’re insecure about missing half your dick, doesn’t mean you get to act all prissy about it.” 

“Alright, you know what Richie, fuck you, you are such bullshit.” _Shit, Stan, way to not let it get the best of you. Reign. It. In._ “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that but like Jesus Christ, I have had enough of you. Tell me what’s up with you and Eddie or I won’t help you with biology labs for the next month.” 

“Aren’t you Jewish? Shouldn’t it be like, ´Yahweh, I have had enough of you´?” 

“I’m serious Richie. Tell me what’s up.” He was quiet for a while, longer than Stan had witnessed Richie being quiet, for a long time and Stan hoped he had finally broken through to him. For his own sanity’s sake. 

“Nothing’s up Stan. I don’t know what to tell you.” Stan sighed and decided to try a different tactic. 

“Alright, then let me tell you what I have noticed. Since we were in kindergarten, teasing Eddie has been your reason for getting up in the morning, but the past couple of weeks, you haven’t done that, almost at all. I know Eddie noticed too. “ At that, Richie seemed to pale a little, but Stan decided to forge ahead and get everything out there. Richie could say his piece after if he wanted. “Instead, you have been ragging on me, and sometimes Bill and Mike too, but mostly me, and Richie I know you know I hate that shit, and not like the way Eddie does, where he says he hates it but he actually thinks it’s funny. I actually hate it.” Richie opened his mouth and Stan cut him off, by holding up one finger. 

“No let me finish. Finally, you have been weirdly sweet to Eddie, and I don’t know if you guys fought or something and you’re trying to make it up to him by being nicer or something but I think this flirting thing has gone too – Oh…” Stan trailed off, and suddenly he knew what he had been missing. He hadn’t even been thinking of it as flirting until he had blurted it out, but Richie was white as a sheet now. 

The puzzle pieces fit. That must be it right? All the touching and the complements made sense now, and Eddie had mentioned that Richie had dropped like three mixtapes in his locker last week. Richie was flirting with Eddie, and because he couldn’t mess with him, he had been messing with Stan instead. 

“Richie… Do you like Eddie?” Richie who was struggling to hide his feelings, let out a loud laugh that sounded very fake. Richie must have thought so too because he grimaced slightly. 

“No, I don’t. I mean sure I do, he’s my best friend, and I love the kid, but no I don’t like him, that’s insane and anyway I can’t because obviously I’m in love with his mom, right?” All Stan’s annoyance from the past weeks faded away and all he felt was worry for his friend. Richie looked positively panicked. 

“But if you did. Richie, you know it wouldn’t change anything, right?” 

“Stan, I don’t like Eddie.” Richie was picking at a loose thread on his shirt sleeve. Ripping, tearing, unravelling on a loop. 

“No, I know, I’m just saying that, like, all of us Losers would be okay with it. Nobody cared when Eddie came out right? So it wouldn’t be bad if you did.” 

“I know, it’s just…” 

“You can tell me, you know? I promise I won’t tell any of the others if you don’t want me to.” 

Richie snorted. “Please, as if. You and Bill tell each other everything.” 

“I wouldn’t tell him Richie. Not if you don’t want me to. I can keep a secret.” 

He finally seemed to give up on his thread, finally looking at Stan again after far too long of just looking at his hands in his lap. 

“Yeah, okay, so maybe I like Eddie a little bit. But it’s not a big deal alright, and I doubt he feels the same. I don’t think he’s even noticed that I’ve been flirting with him.” 

“Oh please, Eddie blushes whenever you look at him for more than two seconds, I don’t think you have anything to worry about, he just needs to get his head out of his ass and notice.” 

“Wait, really? You think so?”  
  


“Yeah Rich, I think it’s gonna work out. It’s too bad your moves are so bad though, I’ve never seen someone strike out so miserably with such consistency before.” Stan grinned, and when Richie grinned back and shoved him lightly with a “Hey now, Stanny, you know that’s not true” Stan truly felt like it might be okay. Richie had trusted him with his secret, and now that Stan was in on it, he could probably help him a bit, and it would be easier to forgive Richie’s merciless teasing. 

Then the bell rang and Stan started gathering his stuff to go to class. Before he could head inside Richie called out. 

“Hey, Stan?” Stan turned and lifted a hand to shade, the sun beaming at him brightly in the early may weather. 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m sorry I’ve been hounding you so much. I know it’s a little shitty of me, I’ve just been sort of panicking non-stop since I realized you know?” 

Stan smiled. “It’s alright, just let off me sometimes wouldja?” One of these days I’m gonna bite your head off.” Richie grinned and trudged up next to him, throwing an arm over his shoulder as they walked back into school to face the rest of the day. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” 


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey Richie, why are you so hung up on Eddie’s hypothetical orgasms?” Stan smirked, and Eddie wondered what the fuck was happening right now. 
> 
> “Is this a nightmare? Am I asleep? Am I gonna suddenly find myself in front of the entire school in my underwear?” 
> 
> “Bet Richie wouldn’t mind.” Stan was still smirking, and Eddie was still suffering. Richie looked kind of uncomfortable too, and Eddie was not an idiot okay? He could take a hint. He just wasn’t all that sure what Stan was trying to hint at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter 3, just one more left! hope you enjoy, I really like writing this story, and it means a lot that people like reading it so thanks!

_O, to take what we love inside,_

_to carry within us an orchard, to eat_

_not only the skin, but the shade,_

_not only the sugar, but the days, to hold_

_the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into_

_the round jubilance of peach._

“Hey, Eddie, give me a thought.” Eddie was torn from his bubble of peace and quiet as Richie threw himself into the seat next to him, always taking up far more space than his, admittedly tall, body required. 

All of the Losers had agreed to study for the SAT’s and all of their AP exams in the library after school, and up until now they had been working in blessed silence, all completely engulfed in whatever they were doing. Eddie himself had not expected his Junior year to kick his ass this badly, but here he was, stressing because he was probably going to fail all of his exams, and then he would never get into a good college and if he didn’t get in to a good college, he would never get out of this town and away from his mother. So, when Richie tore him away from his slow existential panic attack Eddie was both supremely grateful and incredibly annoyed. Richie knew he hated being disturbed. 

“Human tongues are just as unique as fingerprints.” 

“Hell yeah, they are!” As usual, Richie seemed to not realize that the concept of inside voices existed so of course the librarian, Mrs. Starrett threw a dirty look and an insistent “Shh!” their way. Richie waved her off, used to being told by adults to quiet down, and rarely actually complying. 

Eddie let his head fall on the old wooden library table with a dull thud. 

“God, I feel like exams have actually killed me. Like, I wouldn’t even mind death right now, just as long as it’s quick.” 

Richie snorted and Eddie told himself it wasn’t cute because it obviously wasn’t. 

“Yeah bet you wouldn’t mind la petite mort, at all, n’est-ce pas, Eddie?” 

Which, okay. Eddie knew Richie had been taking French for almost three years now but he had never heard him actually speak it before and he certainly hadn’t been prepared for it to be so hot. Then what Richie had actually said made it into his brain and how the fuck was he gonna save face this time? 

“W-what’s that supposed to mean, dumbass?” 

“Nice Bill impression.” At that Bill raised his hands to flip Richie off, eyes never leaving the pages of his book. “I simply meant that you probably just need to have a nice orgasm. Like when was the last time you jacked off? Oh my God, Eddie, do you not know how to –“ Richie was interrupted by Bev smacking him across the head, telling him to “Behave, Tozier, or I swear to god.” 

Eddie could feel himself redden and it took everything in him to will his face into a pissed off grimace instead of the flustered, embarrassed state it seemed to be permanently frozen into these days. When was he going to get his shit together? Richie had always been like this, so why did it affect Eddie so much these days? 

(Eddie knew why, he just didn’t like to think too deeply about it, really) 

“Yeah, Richie, we’re in a library.” Ben chimed in. At that Richie scoffed and swung his long legs up to rest on the edge of Eddie’s chair. 

“How can I behave when Eddie is here, looking like a damn snack, and not even knowing the joy of a good climax?” 

Eddie choked on an indignant protest, now blushing so violently that he was pretty sure he was more tomato than man at this point. “ _Beep beep Richie,_ what the fuck?” 

“Hey Richie, why are you so hung up on Eddie’s hypothetical orgasms?” Stan smirked, and Eddie wondered what the fuck was happening right now. 

“Is this a nightmare? Am I asleep? Am I gonna suddenly find myself in front of the entire school in my underwear?” 

“Bet Richie wouldn’t mind.” Stan was _still_ smirking, and Eddie was _still_ suffering. Richie looked kind of uncomfortable too, and Eddie was not an idiot okay? He could take a hint. He just wasn’t all that sure what Stan was trying to hint at. 

(If he didn’t know better he would say that Stan was implying… But he did know better, right?) 

“Hey Stanley, don’t you have some birds you have to go jack off to?” Richie’s response was a bit harsher than the situation had probably warranted, but Stan just laughed loudly, earning them another loud “Shh!” from Mrs. Starrett. Everyone fell back into their study rhythm, but Eddie couldn’t help but notice that Stan and Richie were arguing using just averted glances and slightly raised eyebrows, having an entire conversation with just their eyes. 

He kind of wanted to know what that was all about, but figured he could just ask one of them later. Probably Stan, Richie had been kind of off lately. 

After a couple more hours of studying, the Losers decided to head down to the quarry to unwind a bit. Honestly Eddie felt kind of bad, wasting time like that, with exams so fast approaching, but he thought if he had to read just one more flashcard his brain would literally seep out of his ears. 

When they got there, they swam around for a bit, and played a couple of rounds of chicken fight, until Eddie got tired and decided just to lie in the sun for a while, soaking up the early summer rays. Bev joined him, because as she said, “I haven’t smoked in nearly four hours, and I am afraid of who I’m gonna turn into if I don’t get some nicotine up in here soon.” 

Eddie lay upwind from her so the smoke wouldn’t bother him as much, but he was getting pretty good at tolerating the smoking. Richie smoked too anyways so he kind of had to adapt. Eddie could hear the rest of the boys still splashing around in the water, and he had been wanting to talk to Bev alone for a while now, so he figured now might be as good as ever. 

“Hey Bev?” 

“Yeah?” 

“How’s everything going? Is your aunt still nice?” 

“Yeah, she’s super cool. She’s been teaching me to sew actually. It’s pretty awesome.” 

“I’m glad. Really Bev, I’m just so happy that asshole is out of your life for good.” He heard Bev take a hard breath. 

“Me too. Sometimes when I wake up at night I still can’t believe he’s actually gone, you know?” 

“Mm.” 

“Anyways, how are things with Mrs. K? She still behaving, or do I need to have a chat with her?” Eddie chuckled quietly and reached his hand over to grab Bev’s. She squeezed his fingers once, twice, and he squeezed back. 

“No, _mom,_ she’s fine. She decided that the odds of me fucking off forever are smaller if she treats me like a person who can actually make decisions on their own so that’s nice.” 

“Very generous of her.” 

Eddie didn’t know how long they lay there in the sun, connected by only their hands, but he felt warm all over. He could hear Richie and the others splashing and laughing in the water, and the thought hit him again, that this, _this_ was his family. These six weirdos were the most significant thing in Eddie’s life, and he loved all of them so much. But he worried a bit too. 

“Bev?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Have you noticed anything off about Richie lately?” At that, Bev sat up to look at him, and from where he was he could see her brow was slightly furrowed. 

“Off how?” 

“I dunno, like _off._ I don’t know how else to explain it. Like today in the library did it seem like he and Stan were like… ugh I don’t know, maybe I’m just overreacting.” 

“Well, maybe he has been a bit more quiet lately, and I have seen him and Stan whispering a lot, but I honestly don’t think you should worry Eddie. If anything was seriously wrong you know he would tell you.” 

“Yeah, I guess…” 

“If you’re really worried you could try just asking?” 

“Yeah, but you know how I get with weirdness, it freaks me out when people aren’t behaving, like, rationally.” Beverly started playing with his hair, and it felt really nice, made him relax a bit. 

“Sure, we all feel like that, but Richie is… Richie is simple. If you ask he’ll tell you, or at least tell you enough so that you don’t worry.” 

“You’re probably right Bev, thanks.” 

“Sure thing, my favorite boy.” 

“I’m telling Ben you said that.” She laughed, and Eddie laughed too, knowing that Ben wouldn’t care anyway, he knew who Bev liked the best, just like they all did. Just like they all probably knew who Eddie liked the best, and boy if that wasn’t a scary thought. 

A little while later, Bill, Ben, Mike, Stan and Richie came up to sunbathe too. Richie lay next to Eddie and kept poking him in the side, telling dumb jokes, trying to make Eddie laugh. Eddie tried to put up a good front, but he was just too happy, so he cracked a couple of time, letting out loud giggles, much to Richie’s delight. 

They spent hours there, talking, napping, existing, until finally Mike broke up the party. 

  
“I gotta get back, promised my grandfather I’d help him with something on the farm. See you all tomorrow.” He was met with a chorus of “See you Mikey” and “Be safe” and “Bye” and then Bill had to go home to eat. Stan went with him, and soon after Bev and Ben left, hands clasped, Bev pulling Ben slightly to get him to follow her. 

Then it was just Eddie and Richie. As it should be. 

Eddie figured, now might be as good a time as any. 

“Richie, are you alright?” The taller boy looked at him in confusion, and Eddie elaborated. “It’s just you’ve been acting sort of weird, and I’m kinda worried about you. So, are you? Alright, I mean.” 

Richie thought about it for a while, hands fidgeting with some leaf he had pulled off a bush somewhere. 

“Sure, I’m alright, why wouldn’t I be?” Something about the way he asked that made Eddie think he was deflecting, and a pit of worry started to form in his stomach. 

“Rich, I know when you’re lying, so can you just tell me? I want to help.” 

“There’s not really anything that you can do about it Eds.” Now he was really starting to worry. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

“Not really, I’m just... I’m having a... thing.” 

“You’re having a thing?” 

“yeah, I guess.” 

“Is it your parents?” 

“No, it’s not my parents, I don’t give shit about them anymore. It’s just this thing or whatever, and I’m dealing with it, I am, it’s just– “ 

“A thing?” 

“Exactly.” 

“I didn’t... It isn’t cause of me, right? You’d tell me?” 

“I swear Eds, I’m not mad at you, it’s just, you know I’m having this goddamn thing and until I figure out what to do about the thing I can’t really talk to you about it. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright.” 

“It is?” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“Thanks.” 

“No problem, Rich.” They sat together in silence for a while. Once every couple of minutes Richie would pick up a rock and try to skip it on the water, usually failing miserably, but sometimes managing a skip or two. Every time that happened he would look at Eddie with such joy and Eddie couldn’t help but grin back. Richie really could be so _nice_ when he wanted to, and Eddie really cared about him. The thought that something was wrong, and that there was nothing Eddie could do to fix it, made him wholly uncomfortable. 

If Eddie had a say nothing bad would ever happen to Richie. Sometimes, if he thought on it too long he got this incredible urge to march over to Richie’s house and scream at his parents until they stopped treating Richie like he didn’t matter, like he wasn’t the most important person in the entire world. Of course, then he would remember that he couldn’t even get his own mother to stop treating him like he was made of glass, even though he found out all he really suffered from was anxiety, that every single disease she had told him he had, had been bullshit. She had gotten off his back a little after he confronted her about it, had realized that her hold over him was gone, so if she wanted to keep him around after he turned eighteen, she should be less controlling. 

After Eddie had confronted his mother he had gone out to find the Losers, to tell them, and Richie had been the first one he found. (Probably because he had been the one Eddie was looking for the most) Eddie had told Richie about all of it, and Richie had hugged him tightly, his too long limbs still not quite matching the rest of his body, and Eddie had felt safe, like everything was going to be alright, despite the fact that he had just found out that his mother had been lying to him his entire life. 

Eddie so wished he could do the same for Richie. Wished he would let him. 

“Just, when you figure out your thing, will you tell me?” Eddie said, voice quiet for some reason. Maybe he just didn’t want to spoil the moment. 

“Yeah, you’ll be the first to know, I promise.” 

“Alright, good... You know, I love you right? You’re my best friend.” 

“Yeah, I know Eds. You too.” Richie sounded more hopeful now than he had earlier, and Eddie figured he could try to lighten the mood a little now. It felt like they were mostly out of the woods. 

“Okay, asshole I don’t care how much of a thing or whatever you’re having, you know I hate it when you call me that.” 

But Eddie didn’t really hate it, not at all, and when he looked at Richie, he was pretty sure that he knew it too. 


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He came up for air and heard Stan yell “You are such a drama queen Richie!” And he threw his head back and laughed, and the losers jumped too, and everything was going to be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys so funny story, i literally had the worst hangover of my life yesterday so even though this was like 90% finished i couldn't get myself to write a. single. word. lmao
> 
> anyway, i'm not completely sure about how this turned out, but i can't look at it any more so here you go, final chapter, hope you enjoy! Let me know <3

_There are days we live_

_as if death were nowhere_

_in the background; from joy_

_to joy to joy, from wing to wing,_

_from blossom to blossom to_

_impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom._

In the end, it was Eddie who made the first move which was pretty much par for the course. 

It was the first week of the summer vacation before senior year, and the Losers had been forced inside by a string of summer rain for a couple of days and they were all going pretty stir-crazy, Richie because he was stuck inside during his summer break, and the rest of the Losers because they were stuck inside with Richie during their summer break. He was man enough to admit that he could drive people a little crazy if he hung out with them for too long in enclosed places. He needed space to express himself, okay? 

So, it was a huge relief when the raining stopped and the sun appeared again. The Losers met up at Bill’s house, to go to the quarry and do the jump from the edge, like they always did. By now it almost felt like it wasn’t really summer if they hadn’t all hurled themselves off the cliff and into the deep water, and the fact that they had had to delay this year because of the rain just made them more excited that they were finally doing it. 

The path to the edge was more slippery than usual, the rain having loosened a lot of the earth, making it very muddy. Richie could see out of the corner of his eye that Eddie was walking weirdly, jumping from dry patch to dry patch, probably trying to keep his shiny white keds clean. Richie couldn’t help but grin a little at the sight. Eddie had been doing a lot better recently with all the germ stuff, but even Eddie drew the line somewhere, and apparently that line was wading through six inches of mud. 

“Hey Eds, if you want, I can give you a ride.” Eddie stopped to look at Richie, and Richie stopped to, motioning to his back. The other Losers didn’t even spare them a glance as they walked on. 

“I’m not gonna let you fucking carry me around Richie, I’m not a baby, and besides knowing you, you’d probably just drop me in the nearest mud pile.” 

“Aww come on, I can see you trying to save your shoes, and I don’t give a fuck about mine. You’re tiny anyway it’ll be like carrying a sack of potatoes.” 

“Oh, fuck you, that wasn’t even remotely the point.” 

“Eddie Spaghetti, I promise I’m not gonna drop you, just hop on.” Eddie thought it over for a couple of seconds, and then to Richie’s extreme joy, decided that his shoes were worth sacrificing his dignity for, and hopped on Richie’s back. 

Richie let out huge whoop of joy, hooked his hands under Eddie’s thighs _(don’t think about that too much)_ and took off at a run to catch up with the others. The sun was high in the sky and it was hot. Richie was fairly certain that the mud would be dried up by the afternoon, but he kind of hoped it wouldn’t be. 

Eddie was clinging on to him tightly, and even though he was hot and sweaty and kind of uncomfortable, Richie never wanted him to let go, would carry his best friend everywhere if only it meant that he would get to be this close to him. 

Richie knew he should have said something to Eddie by now, but he could never seem to find the right moment. He had been making a lot of mix tapes, but Eddie never said anything about it other than a quiet thanks whenever Richie pushed a new one into his hands. Admittedly he did put a lot of weird shit on there to hide all the gooey love songs, but still. If Eddie had felt the same he probably would have said _something_ by now right. 

He knew he wasn’t exactly being subtle, Stan had been sending him these _looks_ the past few weeks, and whenever the two of them were alone Stan would poke and prod and nudge, and God, it was so fucking annoying. 

They got to the quarry and Richie reluctantly let Eddie crawl off his back, and it was as if the prolonged contact had set something loose inside him. The other Losers had already undressed to their underwear, so Richie pulled off his flannel and t-shirt, quickly shedding his pants, and as he ran for the edge he thought _this is it, this is it, this is it!_

Without stopping to look over the edge he leapt and on his way down he screamed “I’m bi!” and when he hit the water it felt like maybe he could actually be in charge of his own life for once. He had decided to tell them on his own terms, and he knew they wouldn’t act any different towards him, they certainly hadn’t when Eddie had come out, but it was still so goddamn hard to say, and now that he had, he was just so relieved. 

He came up for air and heard Stan yell “You are such a drama queen Richie!” And he threw his head back and laughed, and the losers jumped too, and everything was going to be alright. They swam around for a while, just laughing and joking around. 

Richie tried to use the water to shape his hair into some kind of cool looking mohawk with limited success and Bill kept splashing him whenever he was getting close. Eddie was beside him, talking about something or other, Richie didn’t really pay too much attention. 

“-and do you even know how bad a cut like that can get if you’re not up on your tetanus shots, Ben, you should really get that looked at, especially if we’re swimming around in this water, God knows how many bacteria are in here.”  
  


“Eddie it’s really fine, it’s half healed already, don’t worry.” Eddies voice was rising in pitch making Richie tune in to his conversation with Ben. He seemed kind of on edge, and Richie didn’t get why, it was summer, they had nothing to worry about for several months. 

“It’s not! It’s not fine, if that gets infected you could like loose your arm, Ben, and what are you gonna do with just one arm, we should just go to the doctor right now, come –“ Richie decided that this had gone on long enough and cut off his ranting best friend. 

“Hey Eddie, why are you bothering Ben about a literal paper cut when I’m over here looking like a sexy ass shark, getting murdered by Bill” Bill who wasn’t even splashing Richie anymore snorted and said, “Yeah r-right Trashmouth, it’s a miracle your e-even alive.” 

Eddie turned to them and there was anger in his eyes that Richie didn’t know what to make of. 

“You know what _Richie_ , why don’t you just stay the fuck out of my business, since I apparently don’t get to know yours.” Okay, that was weird. Richie was fairly sure he hadn’t done anything particularly mean to Eddie today, and he hadn’t seemed mad earlier when they were on the path together. 

“What’s that supposed to mean Eds?” 

“Quit it with the fucking nicknames, asshole, and leave me alone.” 

“Okay dude, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything to deserve that attitude, so can you just tell me what’s wrong?” The other Losers were quiet now, just floating and watching what was slowly devolving into a fight that Richie didn’t even want to be in, didn’t even know what was about. 

“What’s wrong _dude,_ is that I asked you weeks ago, if something was wrong, and you wouldn’t even say, and now I find out that Stan has known you’re bi for a month, and you wouldn’t tell me? I’m supposed to be your best friend and all I get is ‘Oh, Eddie, I’m having a thing or whatever blah blah’ and what the hell am I supposed to think about that?” Richie looked around at the other Losers and decided that this was not a conversation he wanted to be having in front of them, so he started to swim toward the bank telling Eddie to follow, which he did, movements in the water stiff and obviously upset. Richie caught Stan motioning at him to tell Eddie the truth before dragging Eddie along the rock path where they would be out of sight from the water. 

“Look, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about being bi, I honestly kind of forgot I hadn’t told you –“ 

“-Oh, like that’s any better Richard,” Richie grabbed Eddie’s wrist. 

“Hey, let me finish alright? Being bi, was not my thing, and Stan only knew about that because I told him this other thing, so it wasn’t like I was hiding it from you or anything, and honestly Eddie, I don’t think you get to be mad about it. You know how hard it can be… to come out and stuff” Eddie softened a bit at that, but he still seemed incredibly tense. 

“Yeah, it’s just. You were the first person I told you know? I thought I meant more to you than just… I don’t even know, why I’m saying – God never mind Richie it’s fine.” 

“It’s obviously not fine Eds. You’re right that I should have told you sooner, or maybe in a different way, and if that’s what you’re upset about I’m sorry but-“ 

“It’s not.” 

“Then what?” 

“Just… Oh fuck it.” 

And then Eddie was reaching for Richie’s face, and Eddie was kissing him and Richie had wanted this for so long, had been wondering, fantasizing about kissing Eddie for so long, that he completely forgot to respond, and soon (too soon) Eddie stopped and stepped back, completely red in the face, looking crushed and like he was trying to hide it. Richie never wanted to see Eddie look like that again. 

“Oh my god. I’m sorry if that was weird or inappropriate, and I know you’re having a thing or whatever right now, so you can just forget about it, it didn’t even mean– “ 

Richie interrupted Eddies flow of word vomit by grabbing his face and kissing him back. This time Eddie was the one who was frozen, but soon enough he got the memo and then they were _kissing_. It was kind of awkward at first, their mouths trying to figure out how to slot together just right, but then it stopped being weird, and then Richie stopped being able to think about anything other than Eddie’s lips on his, Eddie’s hands in his hair, Richie’s hands on Eddie’s hips, Eddie, Eddie, _Eddie._

If figuring out he was in love with Eddie was like waking up then kissing him was like coming home. 

Eventually they both needed to come up for air, and they broke apart, but Richie didn’t want any room between them, so he followed Eddie’s retreating face and connected their foreheads, breathing heavily. 

“ _That.”_

“Huh?” 

“That, was my thing or whatever. I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks now. I can’t believe you beat me to it.” 

“Guess I’m just braver than you Trashmouth. Who woulda’ thunk.” Eddie sounded slightly out of breath, and all Richie wanted to do was kiss him, again and again. 

“Oh, I always knew you were braver than me, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised.” 

“Guess not.” 

“Hey Eds?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you wanna be my boyfriend?” Richie could feel Eddie’s smile, and his heart was so full right now, so completely full. 

“Yes.” 

Richie went back in for another kiss, and they stood there for a while, kissing, exploring this new thing, and whispering back and forth, but eventually they agreed to head back to the rest of the Losers. 

They had all gotten out of the water and were lounging on the bank. When they noticed Eddie and Richie coming back they all perked up, and Stan looked supremely curious. Bev though, Bev looked smug, and she was the first one to say something. 

“So are you two dating yet?” 

“God, why are you so invested in my love life Marsh?” Richie tried deflecting, not knowing whether Eddie wanted them to know, but he honestly wouldn’t say it was his best work. 

“Yeah Bev, frankly your need to butt in everywhere is frankly concerning.” Eddie was not doing any better. 

“Eds you said frankly twice.” 

“Shut the fuck up Richie, oh my God!” Richie grinned, because this was his Eddie, and everything was alright, better even, and he didn’t even care that they were fooling literally no one. 

All of their friends looked supremely unimpressed but Ben was the one to break the silence. 

“Well? Are you?” 

Eddie snorted clearly amused and Richie fought hard to keep his own smile off his face. 

“Well I don’t know what y’all are talking ‘bout, I feel absolutely nothin’ when I look at this here young Mr. Kasbrak.” He gave his best shot at a southern accent and now Eddie’s shoulders were shaking with barely contained laughter. 

“Yeah the only one I’m dating is Richie’s dad, am I right?” The rest of the Losers groaned but Richie gasped, faux scandalized. 

“Well now I might be feeling something after all. Betrayal! How could you Eds, you know I’m insecure about Went being hotter than me.” 

“As you should be.” 

Stan let out a huge groan that startled Richie enough to make him jump a bit. 

“You two are the fucking worst! We just wanna know if you figured your shit out or if we need to listen to you whine about your crushes-” at this Stan directed his famous evil eye at Richie “-or watch you flirt in the most awkward Goddamn way for another month, or if we can finally get some peace.” 

Eddie took pity on him, and Richie was only half disappointed. He had kind of wanted to see how far he could take this, before one of the Losers tried to actually kill him. 

“We’re together, Stan, calm down.” As Eddie said it his face twisted up in something that looked kind of like wonder, and yeah Richie could kind of understand that. That was the first time he had actually heard it out loud, and it felt really… nice. 

“Th-thank _god_ , I don’t think I could have handled m-much more drama from you g-g-guys.” Richie honestly loved his friends. They were being so normal about this. 

“We weren’t that bad” Eddie muttered. 

“No, you were worse.” Stan said, and Richie grinned mischievously. If he didn’t give his friends a little hell they would probably think he’d gone soft, and he couldn’t have that. 

“Well Stanny, if you thought it was bad before, just wait till you see me and Eddie make out a couple hundred times, then you’ll be really sorry. Speaking of which, Eddie, wanna come hang out at my place and feel nothing for each other for a while?” 

Eddie grinned and Richie thought that he was really the most beautiful boy in the world. 

“Sure Rich, I’m practically hollow, that’s how little I feel right now.” 

As Richie led Eddie away from the Losers he heard Mike whisper: “Oh, god. Why would we ever think this would be better?” And if he hadn’t already been busy putting the moves on his very cute boyfriend he probably would have laughed because, yeah. They were definitely going to regret wanting this to happen. 

Richie though, he didn’t regret a thing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poem featured in this story is called From Blossoms and it's written by Li-young Lee, it is one of my all time favorites! It is also where i got the title from the fic.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is Discoballer if you wanna chat


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